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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

The plot line could be right out of Tomb of Dracula and has quite a bit to recommend it for old school gaming. The plot sound pretty simplistic - Several years after his death by electrocution in the late 1930s, ghoulish rapist/murderer Caleb Croft (Michael Pataki) rises from his crypt and brutally assaults young Leslie Hollander (Kitty Vallacher). Leslie becomes pregnant by Croft and delivers a baby boy, whom she nurses with bottles of blood. The child matures into the ruggedly handsome James Eastman (William Smith), who sets out on a mission to find and kill his diabolical father. Eastman enrolls in a college, where his father is teaching as Professor Lockwood. Following a séance hosted by the professor for his students, James confronts his father in a showdown between good and evil.

Taglines:

Father and son--related by BLOOD! ANYONE'S BLOOD!

"James Eastman: [voiceover] My mother found it difficult to tell me that I wasn't like other children; I could never share a life with whole human beings. I slowly learned that the thing that raped my mother and fathered me was no living feeling man, but a malignant force of cancer that refused to be destroyed. It wasn't only her blood my mother gave to keep me alive, her youth and her own life was sucked up into the syringe that fed me. "Grave of The Vampire Movie

Using The Blood line of Caleb Croft In Your Old School Game

There is a ton of stuff to mine here. The ghoulish rapist/murderer Caleb Croft is a perfect vampire to use in a OD&D horror setting or even Call of Cthulhu or Kult. It took quite awhile from the time he rose from the grave till he confronted his son. The fact is that he's been around since the 1700's. Who knows how many children he might have fathered?Then there's the matter of a certain book known as Mysteries of New England. It contains the entire mystery of Caleb Croft and his assumed names and facades. The book might also speculate on the true nature of Croft's vampirism. The various unsolved crimes attributed him along with a sprinkling of other murders and mayhem. The book also seems to be a limited run publication and tied to the local lore. Very common for a book of scholarly or academic credence. Croft's bloodline is a bit unique. He has the tradition powers of vampirism but seems to concentrate on the physical and mental aspects of his curse. There's a sort of weird animal magnetism that goes with his curse. A bit of the dark predator lurking just in his eyes and a definite damnation from Satan himself.

Then there's the issue of the hybrid James Eastman already growing up we see signs that he has some of his father's curse running through his veins. Just little things but the signs are there throughout the film.

The hybrid James Eastman becomes a full vampire at the conclusion of the film and is unique because he becomes cursed by his father with the dark forces that surround his damned state. He's also the bridge gap for a modern Eastman line.

The Eastman line might look something like this for an OD&D style game. +1 to strength, +2 to intelligence, +1 to wisdom, and +1 to Charisma. The Eastman/Croft line has a propensity for Spiritualism, Necromancy, and murder. The line has a psychotic attraction to violence and tragedy. The player gains all standard weaknesses of the vampire with the addition of being haunted by ghosts and memories of his former victims.Using Grave Of The Vampire

Gave of the Vampire is over the top, melodramatic, and was made for 50,000 back in 1974. The film has so much potential. It takes place within the New England states and could be used as a great jump off point for any number of games. The dialogue is so over the top that it reminds me of Marvel's Tomb of Dracula.This movie could offer a great break in the usual mythos action of the Call of Cthlhu game. A chance to get into the action of tracking down the Newman/Croft affair and its cover up.Alternatively this movie might offer a Kult party a chance to delve into the affairs of the Croft/Newman family. A family that has experienced the horrors and beyond around New England. A great change of pace from the usual affairs of the Undead within the illusion.For OD&D the Croft bloodline might have some very dark history behind it. Croft is a powerful vampire and may in fact have a very dangerous family history dating back centuries. A prequel game adventure set during this time period might track down the beginnings of this dark past. Grave of The Vampire is a unique take on the vampire legend and tied directly into the New England tradition of witchcraft and vampirism. More coming up in the New England tradition of Dark Corner gaming.

Monday, February 25, 2013

Gorgon Milk has cobbled together a scrapbook of Cthulhu Mythos-related D&D stuff from the late 70s and early 80s.It's been inspired by this post at Zenopus Archives, the pdf contains a whole host of Cthulhu goodness.

It contains The following:

"THE LOVECRAFTIAN MYTHOS IN DUNGEONS & DRAGONS" by Robert Kuntz

"THE CTHULHU MYTHOS REVISITED" by Gerald Guinn

"A REBUTTAL TO 'THE CTHULHU MYTHOS REVISITED'" by J. Eric Holmes

"H. P. LOVECRAFT'S RICHARD UPTON PICKMAN" by L. Schick and T. Moldvay

Deities & Demi-Gods: "CTHULHU MYTHOS" by James Ward with Robert Kuntz

I can't even begin to explain the utility of this information to someone like me. As a DM who regular plays around with the Mythos in D&D and AD&D first edition this is simply a really nice suppliments. The pdf contains all of the esentials that you need to run both OD&D and AD&D versions of the usual Lovecraft suspects within your old school games.

The material holds up even after all this time and I've been toying around doing a revamp of Carcosa using the Stars Without Numbers rules set for more detailed play. This pdf is just the thing to get that started. Its by no means Realms of Crawling Chaos but it hits all of the high notes. The material is that good and I'm seeing this material with Rose colored glasses. Best of all its free right over HEREDid I mention its free.

The movie is based on the Italian comic Valentina which according to wiki :

Valentina Rosselli, whose appearance is inspired by silent film actress Louise Brooks, is a Milanese photojournalist. Her boyfriend, Philip Rembrandt, the super-hero Neutron, has the ability to paralyze people, animals or machines he has seen in the flesh or pictures. Later a child was born to Philip and Valentina, Mattia.

The character Valentina was born on December 25, 1942 in Milan and grew older during the series, the last episode of which was published in 1995.As the time passed, in Valentina's stories Crepax abandoned the fantasy-science fiction or detective themes of the beginning, introducing a complex, weird mix of erotism hallucinations and dream. The strips also dealt with bisexuality, autoerotic ecstasy, super-sensual abandon, and sadomasochism.

Strange things have been happening to Valentina, a young and beautiful professional photographer, ever since she made the acquaintance of Baba Yaga, a mysterious older woman who gave her a lift home late one night. For one thing, Valentina has been having weird, kinky nightmares. For another, one of Valentina's cameras seems to have acquired a deadly curse. And then there was that visit to Baba Yaga's house, where Valentina discovered bizarre relics, including a dominatrix doll, and a bottomless pit in the living room. Valentina comes to realize that Baba Yaga is a witch who is out to possess her - body and soul.

Using Baba Yaga For Your OSR Game

There is a lot of surreal stuff going on in this movie. It weaves back and forth between the real world and a strange pseudo sexual dream realm. The type of stuff that is seen in Kult and some of the Pagan Publishing Call of Cthlhu game stuff.There's some really strange stuff going on with the title character. A rich old widow who nearly runs down the main character. She grows young and old at the drop of a hat. She has magically abilities and uses them not only on the main character but on her camera as well.

Then of course there's a dominatrix doll that is just one side of beyond creepy. This thing shows up half way through the movie. It comes to life later on and tortures the main character sadomasochism fashion. Theories abound as to what's actually happening in this movie. Some of the theories put forth are that Baba Yaga in this movie is actually an aspect of Hastur or a ghost of a rich widow trapped between the world of the living and the world of dream. For Kult she might be a forgotten god slumming her way through Milan trying to hold on to her power and she needs an anchor in this world. For all of its "adult" themes the movie is relatively light on the sexual stuff and titillates more with its nudity. In a nod and wink fashion of the 70's and common to movies of this type. The movie is really a blank slate and could be used as a jump off point for PCs to explore the collective unconsciousness where only dream fragments of the dead still exist. I've used this Freud approach to several OD&D games with horrific overtones. The film also has made its way into both Unknown Armies and Over The Edge. Please bare in mind that it is a grade Z movie and you can take what I'm saying as only my opinion. Your mileage may vary.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

The Amazing Mr.X is a great film to pull and mine from. The plot goes something like this : On the beach one night, Christine Faber, two years a widow, thinks she hears her late husband Paul calling out of the surf...then meets a tall dark man, Alexis, who seems to know all about such things. After more ghostly manifestations, Christine and younger sister Janet become enmeshed in the eerie artifices of Alexis; but he in turn finds himself manipulated into deeper deviltry than he had in mind.

Everyone in this movie is getting screwed by everyone else. The film crosses the line between horror and noir. It bounces back and forth easily and completely.

Here's the Full Movie

So now that You've watched the movie surely there can't be anything to use. Its a strange, standard, noir/monster/ghost piece. Well aside from the sets, the characters as NPC's , the use of the secrets, the twists and turns. There is more to it.

Using Mr.X For Your Old School Horror Campaign

The role of Spiritualism in horror games isn't usually something that one finds entire campaigns about. However Call of Cthulhu isn't always your usual Mythos game. Pagan Publishing actually did a remarkably good job of creating a usable campaign set right around my neck of the woods.

"Coming Full Circle is a campaign for the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game. It contains four scenarios set from 1929 through 1939. This is a non-Mythos campaign featuring threats drawn from New England folklore and superstition, and includes rules for creating psychics and mediums as investigators and using "the Gift" in play."

The above is from Amazon

Let me tell you this campaign doesn't just put the gift in play it's one of the best game books for using the type of psychics that we see not only in Mr.X but in films, and television as well.

"VENGEANCE HAS BEEN A LONG TIME COMING. The little town of North Ashfield, Massachusetts, is not the kind of town where evil dwells. Yet it not only dwells- it thrives. The ghosts of the past and the horrors of the present rub shoulders with honest citizens and innocent children, feeding on the isolation and the naivet' of the residents. The circle of life, the circle of love, the circle of friends, the circle of family: all are encompassed within a much larger sphere . . . the circle of death. Its arc is slow and somber, but when the ends are joined all hell will break loose. The legends of New England rise wild."

The witch, the phantom, and the vampire of New England legend are the sanity- blasting legends of the adventures not Cthulhu or company. When wanting to portray a psychic investigator ala Millennium (remember when that show was all the rage) or even the con artist type of Mr. X this is the book.

Possibly my favorite Pagan book that no one seems to ever talk about anymore. Its nice to shed some light on it. If only for a moment.

There's also one other game that I've used the Amazing Mr.X with and believe it or not none of the players ever saw it coming.

That's right I slipped in the entire plot into Gang Busters ad hoc and none of the players caught on. One of the players ended up with a detective with some impressive slight of hand abilities and it bridged into another series of adventures.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Etulariaelago's Glass - This intricate piece of bronze and glass seems almost warm to the touch. Created in Germany in the 1600's this wonderful piece not only reflects the owner but their hidden desires that seem to dark right out of the corner of their eyes. The piece contains a "phantasmal force entity" - This 4 hit point monster will do the owners bidding for a time but after 1d4 months the beast will tire of the current owner and look for a more malevolent master. The thing travels through the mirrors or reflective surfaces of world carefully choosing it's moment to strike. The thing's claw of light and hate wounds for 1d6 points of damage and most of its kills are arranged to look as if accidents.

Glandurchilkor's Vision - This cheap five and dime creation from Japan is actually the work of a gifted street shaman from the 60's. The glass shows the reflection of the person gazing into it and the state of their soul. A Pit fiend of the most cunning type has been bound into the thing and wishes the most secret desire of the holder and how to carry out these cunning plans. The demon will offer more and more twisted tid bits of wisdom but there is a price. There is always a price. The mirror can't be destroyed, it heals as if a troll. The glass has many twisted bits of plastic and brass along its edge giving some insight into its history.

Hael The Travelers Friend - This glass will take a user between this world and the four other dimensional locations or alternative worlds its connected with. Getting back requires luck, blood, and enduring the horrors found between the worlds. This piece was created more then one hundred years ago by a mad optician using bits of his own mind. The piece has a wicked sense of humor as well.

Korgogbar's Goblin - This incredibly expensive piece of brass, polished glass, and stone work is actually the body of Hans Korgobar who was twisted into this amazing work. Hans stumbled upon a goblin magician and for his troubles became basis of this piece. The mirror reflects not only the user but the darkest aspects of the world of faerie as well. They see you and you see them. The mirror bestow's a twisted version of the "fey sight" but only allows one to see the darkest aspects of that world. Only a quest of the highest horror always one to gain the full sight but madness may claim you by then.

Loduguli The Lake's Surface - This glass reflects no only the roadway upon which it sat but also the lochs, lakes, and bodies of water around the world. The mirror however has a price for those gaze into its surface. A water spirit of the darkest stripe takes the dearest one of the owner of this piece of road way glass.

The glass allows the owner to see and hear all going on around each and every lake this piece is connected to and travel to those places almost instantly. The glass will take a person sometimes randomly every 1d8 months. It is a very hungry piece.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

This is one of those trashtastic films that simply screams great adventure. We present the:

Dames, Spiders, Mythos, and Radium

Horrors of Spider Island is one of those public domain horror movies that is so very, very, bad that its good. It actually has a lot to mine if you don't mind getting your hands dirty.

The victims have arrived

A bit of background from wIki: Horrors of Spider Island (German: Ein Toter hing im Netz) is a 1960 West German horror film directed by Fritz Böttger.[1][2][3] The film stars Alexander D'Arcy as Gary the talent agent who invites several girls to a club in Singapore. Their plane ride ends abruptly when they crash-land into the ocean. D'Arcy and the girls make their way to an island where they find a larger spider-web-and. A giant spider sinks its teeth in D'Arcy which turns him into a werewolf Werespider actually. The movie has a really weird plot actually. Again from Wiki:

Gary, a nightclub manager, flies a group of women from New York City to dance in his club in Singapore. While flying over the Pacific Ocean, their plane catches fire, splits in half, and plummets into the ocean; oddly enough, no-one in Gary's group is killed, while no one (pilot, stewardess, etc.) who was not in Gary's group survives. We next see the group days later, suffering from dehydration on a life raft, when they finally spot a small island and spend the night on the beach.

The next morning, they discover fresh water and decide to go exploring. They are quickly amazed and excited to find a cabin, but delight turns to horror when they open the door to discover a dead man hanging from a gigantic spider web. According to his journal, the man was a professor mining for Uranium, but he feared something terrible was about to happen to him. There's no indication how long the professor planned to be on the island, but the women estimate there is enough food to last them about a month.

That night, Gary proceeds alone out onto the island where he is bitten by a giant spider and turns into some type of spider-man beast. He flees into the woods, leaving the women to wonder what has happened to him. The next day, seemingly possessed by uncontrollable violent urges, Gary kills one of the girls. The remaining women, still unaware of what has happened to him, have no idea that he is the one who has done this.

A month passes, and the women are running low on food when they spot a ship on the horizon. They are unable to signal it before it leaves, but two men arrive in a rowboat with supplies for the professor. They soon find the women, who tell them the professor is dead. As they all wait for the ship to return, they celebrate their last night on the island with a wild party. One of the men sneaks off to rendez-vous with a woman, but both end up being killed by Gary. Finally aware of Gary's fate, the remainder of the group hunts him down with torches until he flees into quicksand and dies.Full Movie Here

Using The Horrors Of Spider Island

Spider Island isn't a beach resort destination in terms of PCs. The movie has a lot to offer if your willing to over look its incredible plot holes, flaws, and almost the entire movie.

Spider Island is some nameless little island in the Pacific that has been drawing victims in like flies. The whole set up smells of ancient degenerate vanish civilization long past its prime.

Slave Of Atlach -Nacha

These degenerate creatures are last remains of the long vanished civilization of MU which worshiped the ancient spider god with blood,sacrifices, and their very souls. Each of these monsters infects another victim as part of its fifty year cycle of life.

Those bitten must transform into a horrid man/spider hybrid that lusts for human flesh and blood. These monsters are driven insane by the thoughts, lusts, and wants of all those who have come before them. They are in fact caught within a web of memory as much as the physical mutation.

This has cycle has been going on for centuries and continues to this day. The "Chosen" continue the cycle until they mutate further into the service of the spider god. Finally becoming four foot long, eighty pound hybrid/spider thing that feeds on the goats, deer, and other things on the island until another will take his place. Slave Of Atlach -Nacha Final FormType: Lycanthrope/Monstrous Hybrid Armor Class: 6/13Hit Dice: 2+2Saving Throw : 13 Special: Poison (+1 Save or Die), Infection (Those infected must make a save vs poision or become a slave of Atlach-Nacha during the night),surprise, webs Move: 18 Challenge Level/XP: 7/600

Curse of the Spider GodThose bitten by the monster must save vs poison or become infected with cycle of madness and depravity of the Spider God. During the evening they gain +2 to strength and constitution but -3 on intelligence, & wisdom.They also gain a lust for human flesh and blood. Claws that add +1 to all melee attacks and resistance to all mind influencing spells.After 1d4 years the slave will mutate further and further into the service of the spider god eventually becoming a fully fledged slave waiting for his next chosen.

Adventure Hooks

For a game like Kult this is Gary's purgatory and the cycle of victims is eternal. The players stumble into this den of madness and insanity.

Who was really backing that Professor? What about his findings concerning the radium on the island and could that be what really killed the vanished people of long ago?

What happened to the rest of the flight crew,passengers, and the plane? Could the island itself not be a part of our world and merely a place caught in a pocket dimension?

Who the hell is Gary? Why hire dancers for a gig in Singapore and was there some shadier, darker more sinister purpose, and was this only the latest batch of girls?

Could the radium find have gotten back to the professors backers? Will they hire investigators to find the professor and his findings. Was the professor getting too close to the very secrets that the island was hiding. Could there be a temple complex, tunnels, etc on the island. You bet there could!

For a game like Dark Conspiracy, Spider Island could be used as part of a mini campaign where the players have to figure out its secrets before it vanishes back into its proto-dimensional location. Its riches could prove a very lucrative venture to mega corporation.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Hela And Her Twisted Children - This doll maker and ancient alchemist steals the breath of children imbuing their very souls into her little children. She moves among the midwives and lower classes "helping" where she can. Hela is infact an ancient lich from Greece who has survived for thousands of years a dark and twisted thing.

Dr.Ilagwet - guru and cult leader this dark alchemist moves among the circles of London's power elite dispensing advice and information while gaining the souls of his clients to be twisted into undead things after death.

Kamminglartu The Loner - This Romanian national has survived being burned alive three times and creates incredible steam powered minions to despense his twisted brand of justice to those he deems worthy. A very dangerous alchemist and magus of the highest order.

Kaniako- The mad draper of Japan - This madman creates his minions in twisted swaths of fabric, blood, and machinery. These 6 hit point works of twisted demonic art move and are the rave of the art world. Little do those who encounter them know of the 1d4 damaging blades that will pop out for murder and mayhem.

Languntundrth- The terror of Iceland, this mad killer of men has passed beyond the caring of humanity after murdering 33 people within the vacation spots of Iceland.His wind up creations of flesh, bone, and vice simply watch and report of the next set of victims to their master. He's become something dark, twisted, and dangerous. Existing in this world and the dark beyond of someplace else. He works with his tools and his power.

The Escort Nalialae- She has so many names and they all resemble the most perfect models of the runway. She is a dark almagam of flesh, clockwork, and bits of the most "perfect" flesh she can mold into herself. It is said that each and everyone of her victims is a part of herself some of which are their willingly. She moves among the one percent of the jaded,rich, and wealthy.

Ndron- A lord of the cemetary and beyond. His roots start in the United Kingdom and have extended deep into the family backgrounds of Europe and America. His criminial empire provides him with the raw fodder for dark and twisted creations of clockwork, soul, and spirit willing to show others the wonders of the other world.

Rcae- A mad monster working within the deep bowels of the richest of the abandon cities of China where he sews immortality into flesh. A student of the flesh tenders of Leng this mad man releases his fantastic creations of soul and clockwork as weapons of incredible destructive power upon the enemies of the state.They vanish and move among the rubble finding new "materials" for their master. He or rather it has become a dark twisted thing of nightmare and undeath.

Rthabara- The Death of Calcutta, the Butcher of Needle, the worker of the skiens and souls of mankind. It has so many names but evidence of its work moves among the night in a whirl of clockwork, death, destruction, and murder. This twisted assassin is highly paid but is money its real modivation? Its presence is merely a whisper on the winds of police blotters, international crime watches, and the occasional conspiracy website.

Shiring- The creation of some made Dark Alchemist centuries ago this thing has taken up its master's old ways or is it infact as some speculate its old master. It is a twisted creation of dark alchemy, spite, and murder that moves through the Dutch countryside spreading its evil of clock work, and carrion with abandon. It has killed fifteen police officers with its traps that it leaves behind.

Vatualur- The Canadian Killer of Men or the Death Weaver - This thing has so many names that its spiderlike frame can contain them all. It sews up its victims into amalgam of flesh, bone, and clock work and sends its minions on errands of horror. The thing haunts families through the centuries harvesting those it deems worthy of its dark gifts. The thing black mails the elite for "favors" playing a twisted game of chess and murder. A game that shall last centuries on and on. We are merely insects caught in its web.

Roll 1d10 as per normal for your players but let there be one more horrific encounter that simply happens to pop up at the end.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

MURDER MANSION (1972 ITALIAN)- Four women and three men are forced to spend the night in an eerie mansion due to inclement weather, and they soon wish that they had stayed outside. Inside the horrible structure, terror and mayhem reign. AKA Maniac Mansion. *Not to be confused with the 1946 suspense film "Murder Mansion".

Using Murder Mansion For Your Old School Horror Campaign

Murder Mansion is a great little grind house flick that is perfect for setting a low level Call of Cthulhu game or even a Kult Game. The film has a little bit of everything. The fog rolls in an traps a bunch of strangers in a house. Then there's their hostess. She spins a tale of abandon village, witch ancestor with overtones of vampire and even a subplot with a mysterious document. The whole thing seems to stretch back to 1942 and there are overtones of the Italian zombie flicks of the 70's here as well.The film delivers on the atmosphere meter more then the blood guts and gore scale. The fact is that the plot and the location of the house that has become unhinged from reality as a jump off point is pretty classic. The film's plot could even be borrowed for a game of Dark Conspiracy for that Kolchak touch.The film could work as a spring board for a Realms of Crawling Chaos game. The party becoming trapped by the fog and the undead crawling around outside. There are certain enough dark overtones for a dark fantasy game.Because the film was made in 1972 its mostly forgotten and abandon. A DM could use it as a blank slate to paint the movie as a jump off point into the "Other World"

I've used the film twice as a gate way game for Chill and some other games where a quick entry into Hell, the Astral, or some other worldly location is needed. The location is flexible and the European villages could be anywhere from Italy, Spain, or even Romania.

Our Hostess for the evening has potential as a Vampire, Witch, or something far,far worse. She's cropped up in a few other games. The mansion and its hostess present a DM with a low level location that can really make for a great one shot game. Yes I know its a trashtastic movie and terrible but sometimes that's all that's needed for a successful game.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

A kick starter for one of the projects that I'm involved with. The Toy Makers Magnum Opus Act One - A beautiful handmade art book of Pandoric puzzle designs illuminated with metallic foils, printed on parchment & vellum, & a cast cover.

My friend and writer/artist Eric Gross has been working on this for a very, very, long time. From the Kickstarter:

"Over twelve years ago I started creating the Pandorics. For those unfamiliar, a Pandoric is a word I coined to describe the beautifully intricate puzzle like works of art that when solved open gateways sometimes to Heaven, sometimes Hell, sometimes there are worse alternatives. "

About Me

My name is Eric I started gaming with Dungeons & Dragons white box back in 1977 & haven't looked back. I'm a crafter, sewer, sewing machine repair man who also happens to be a Dungeon Master. Thanks for taking the time to read this.